I didn't mean it like that!
by vashluver1
Summary: BoothBrennan Temperance and Seeley go to Hawaii in search of a vicous shark taming murderer. Rated T for future chapter. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer-I don't own Bones.**

**Summary-Temperance and Seeley go to Hawaii in search of a vicious shark taming murderer. Booth/Brennan T for future chapters.  
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"Bones!" Agent Seeley Booth called in a singsong voice to his brown-haired coworker walking swiftly in the opposite direction. "Come on, Bones. You can't avoid me forever!" 

Dr. Temperance Brennan immediately stopped and promptly turned around to face her partner. "And why not?"

"Because I am your prime source of pleasure," Booth replied, haughtily. Temperance raised her eyebrow in question. "I didn't mean it like that, Bones! I just presumed that you enjoyed traveling with me to new places, identifying dead bodies, catching murderers, relaxing on the beach…"

"Well, Booth! You presumption is incorrect!" Temperance turned and rapidly walked away.

"Come on, Bones! You don't like the beach?" Booth called after the fading back of the forensic anthropologist.

"Shut up, Booth!" Temperance rounded a corner and disappeared.

"God that damn woman is so stubborn." Booth shook his head and mumbled, "Who _doesn't _like the beach? Crazy…"

Angela Montenegro opened the door to her best friend's office and stood in front of the brilliant woman's desk. "Hey sweetie! What are you doing tonight?" she inquired.

Temperance didn't look up from the case file Booth had left on her desk earlier that morning. "I haven't decided yet."

"Well, what are your choices besides what I'm about to force you to do?" Angela asked.

"I have three options. I can either assist Booth with _another_ murder assignment, ID civil war soldier bodies that have been increasing on my work list, or I can do whatever it is you have in mind, which I do not intend to do."

Angela mused for a moment on her friend's selections of evening activities. "Does Dr. Goodman want you to work on Booth's case file?" she asked.

"He said that it's up to me and he of course made me feel bad by saying I _should _help Booth because he's my…" she paused at the word 'friend'.

"Well, sweetie, if you don't want to help out Booth, then you can always hang with me tonight. I'm going to a club for some _real_ fun."

Temperance looked up from her paperwork in utter refusal. "Oh no, Angela! Last time we had 'fun', I got into a fight, found a DJ mummy, and unintentionally inhaled methane! I'd much rather stay here and work for a few hours than go dancing with you or to Hawaii with Booth."

Angela slammed her hands down on Tempe's desk. "Hawaii!"

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**Please review! This is my first Bones fic. Hope you like it! Sorry, it's kind of short. I still have English homework to do... **  



	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones.

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Temperance stared at Angela. "Yes. Hawaii. Booth said that his next case is in Hawaii and he wants me to come."

"Then go! Don't stick around here labeling bones and burying World War I soldiers! You need some time off!" Angela sat down on Temperance's couch.

"It wouldn't be time off. I'd still have to work. Besides, two weeks with Booth? I couldn't handle it." Tempe folded the case file back up. "And Ange? They're _Civil War _soldiers."

Angela stood up and started walking towards the door. "Sweetie. You're going to the club with me. We're going to have a good time. As for the Booth deal? Sleep on it. Talk to him tomorrow. But tonight, we're going to have fun." She left before Temperance could respond.

Dr. Goodman rubbed his beard and stood up from his desk. "Please bring me Dr. Brennan. Thank you." He motioned for his assistant to leave. Immediately, Seeley Booth stormed into Dr. Goodman's office.

"I couldn't do it!" Seeley paced back and forth.

"Did you tell her the case was in Hawaii?" Dr. Goodman asked.

"Yes! It didn't work! I've decided, she's not human. None of your little squints are human. I'll ok Angela seeing as she _has _a life, but Zach and Hodgens… racing beetles? And Bones! She turned down Hawaii! _Hawaii!_"

Temperance stepped through Dr. Goodman's door and spotted Seeley. "What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

"Oh! I'm feeling the love!" Seeley crossed his arms with impatience. "Sir, tell miss smarty pants here what you're going to make her do!"

"Temperance." The archaeologist calmly sat down. "You are going to Hawaii on assignment with Agent Booth." Seeley grinned, pleased with his achievement.

"But-" Tempe argued.

"No buts!" Dr. Goodman interrupted. "You're going and that's final!"

Temperance glared at Booth, the source of all evil. "Thank you, Agent Booth…"

"I guess I'll be seeing you bright and early." Seeley was satisfied.

Tempe eyed him as she swung the office door open and left. Dr. Goodman chuckled and winked at Seeley. "Have fun!"

Seeley smiled. "Oh, we will." They paused. "Wait… I didn't mean it like that!"

"Right, Agent Booth. Now you better get packed. You have a few long weeks ahead of you."

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**Please review to make me happy! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones… Poor me and all of us who want Eric Millegan so bad…**

**Author's Note- you all probably hate me for this but I'm really not going to put any BB action in these first five or six chapters. I'm trying this new thing called "Turn down the fluff!" I know I'm going to get some good and bad responses to this thing of mine, but frankly, I'm kind of fed up with all these fics where they magically fall in love in the first few paragraphs! Most of these stories don't have very good plotlines because they lack a conflict. If everything is happy-go-lucky, and nothing goes wrong, there is no conflict! To those who do write like that, I know how you feel. This is what we, as hardcore Bones fans, fantasize about. I have to stop myself from making them kiss every second. All just my opinion so please don't flame. We can agree to disagree. If you hate me now, I guess you don't have to read the chapter but here goes!

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Temperance looked at her defeated reflection. Yet again, Angela had convinced her to have fun, which was usually not Temperance's kind of fun. The artist was taking her to a nightclub filled with alcohol and pot fumes. The bathroom smelled like cow shit and the dance floor was flooded with the sticky sweat of the gyrating orgasmic dancers. Yes, definitely not Temperance's kind of fun. For Angela, however, it was sex heaven.

Temperance adjusted her top. It was a tight black tube top that Angela picked out for her. In Tempe's opinion, she looked like a prostitute. Temperance insisted on wearing her usual black dress pants and black boots, but Angela informed her that the club got pretty steamy. Tempe agreed on a black knee high skirt and black strappy sandals. She put her hair up in a half ponytail and left her make up as it was. She would probably sweat it all off anyway. She heard Angela's car honk as Tempe pulled up her shirt so as not to display as much cleavage. Then she grabbed a jacket on her way to the car.

"Oh my god!" Angela shrieked as Temperance walked up. "You look so hot! You'll have no trouble at all finding a sexy dance partner."

Temperance opened the passenger side door and slid into Angela's silver Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T Spyder. "I don't intend on dancing much, Ange."

Angela revved the engine. "What? You have to! It'll clear you head."

"What does dancing have to do with making an unambiguous decision concerning Booth?" Temperance inquired.

"Nothing, sweetie. You just keep thinking about Booth and Hawaii and tossing the whole assignment over and over in your head. I'm thinking it'd be good to forget about it for a while. Maybe you'll decide on something in the shower. You might even focus on the Booth part of your problem in there, too. I usually do." Angela grinned.

Shocked, Temperance turned to Angela in disbelief. "You think about Booth in the shower?"

Angela sighed. "Tempe. Don't act so innocent. I know you have imaginary sex with him, too." The scientist gawked. "You can't deny it!" Temperance shook her head and groaned as her friend smirked, satisfied and pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

The girls arrived at the club an hour before midnight. Temperance was frazzled from her conversation with Angela. Booth was attractive, sure. Contradicting that would be preposterous, but she didn't fantasize about him. Their relationship was merely professional.

As if she read her mind, Angela remarked, "You can never have a professional relationship with a _man_ sweetie. It's illogical." They passed the club bouncer flashing their Ids. "Now, Tempe. I order you to get drunk and have a great experience with the first sex god you find." With that said, Angela went straight to the dance floor.

"I don't anticipate meeting a Scorpio or Dionysus," Temperance muttered. She made her way to the bar and sat down, ordering vodka on the rocks and obviously wanting to get drunk as fast as possible. She was silent as the bartender set the drink down in front of her. Temperance stared at the clear liquid in the crystal cup for a moment and began to drink.

When Angela, drenched in sweat, found Temperance about forty-five minutes later, the forensic anthropologist on her sixth drink and completely intoxicated. Angela, at the time, thought it was hilarious. She and a guy she had been dancing with the whole time sat next to Tempe. "Hey sweetie. I am so proud of you! Now, there is just one thing left for you do accomplish, which I don't think will be too difficult. This here," Angela pointed to the guy next to her. "Is a man and I want you to have sex with him."

Temperance acknowledged the guy with a glare. She fought for her words and slowly said, "I am disinclined to acquiesce your request," she slurred.

Angela rolled her eyes. "Jake, baby. I'm gonna share you with my friend here." She nodded to the drunken mass of scientist sitting by her. "You guys go dance while I have a drink." She nudged Tempe. "Loosen up, sweetie. We're not going home until you get laid."

Jake took Temperance by the hand and she didn't resist as he led her onto the dance floor. "So Angela is a bit hard on you, right?" Tempe nodded. He pulled her close to him and they started swaying their hips to the beat of Check On It by Beyonce as Angela was getting more and more drunk with her Sour Apple martinis and dancing on the tables singing karaoke.

A couple minutes later, "Let's get out of here," Jake whispered in Tempe's ear and she nodded in consent.

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**Thank you all so much for your reviews! This is the most I've gotten for just two chapters! I'm glad you like my story. This is my first Bones fic so go easy on me if I don't get the characters right or anything... Was it just me, or was the document manager thing screwed up yesterday? Also as a side note, if the next chapter gets too... inappropriate, which I hope it won't (everything is just implied), please tell me and I'll change the rating. Thank you for reading. Review! Please and thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones. If I did, it would suck and no one would watch it.

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When Temperance Brennan woke up, she immediately wished she hadn't. Pain seared through her head. She remembered her vodka-filled night. Tempe didn't remember how she got home. She grasped at the sheets beneath her hands, trying to recall what happened the night before. They were satin. Temperance didn't own satin sheets. She shivered and realized she wasn't wearing anything. Tempe opened her eyes and took in her unfamiliar surroundings. She was sprawled on her stomach in a large bed. She could feel the sheets at her feet as if they had been kicked off in the night. Sitting up slowly so as not to upset her headache, she noticed the walls were painted red, unlike her own. This definitely wasn't her house.

"Morning, baby." A voice broke the silence around her. Tempe turned in its direction and saw an unknown man holding a glass of water and some aspirin. "Thought you might need this."

Temperance clutched the pillow over her chest. "Who are you?" she asked wide-eyed.

"I'm Jake. Don't you remember? We danced at the club. I took you here and we had a good f-"

"Oh my God!" Knowing what Jake was going to say, she cut him off in disbelief. 'How drunk did I get last night?' she wondered.

Jake put the glass and aspirin on the bedside table. A high-pitched ring startled Temperance. She looked around alarmed.

"That's been going off all morning. I figured it was your cell so I decided not to answer it. Anyway, do you want to have another go or should I take you home?" Jake asked.

"Um… I'd like to go home. Where's my purse?" Tempe asked as the ringing continued. Jake walked over to the purse lying on its side by the door and brought it to her. He left to give her some privacy.

Temperance rummaged through it and located her still ringing cell phone. The caller ID read 'Booth' so she answered it with a "Hello?"

"Bones! I've been trying to reach you for two hours! Where the hell have you been?" Seeley's voice on the other line sounded apprehensive and vexed.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I just woke up," she said as she began to dress herself one-handed. "I kind of had a late night."

"Kind of?" Seeley was fuming.

"I'm really, really sorry. Angela and I went to some club and I didn't get home until late. Actually… I didn't get home at all."

"What do you mean!" Seeley raised his voice.

Temperance moaned. "Booth… please not so loud…" She slipped on her bra and tried to clasp it with one hand, unsuccessfully.

She heard Booth sigh softly. "Where are you?" he asked in a relatively calm tone.

"I don't know." Tempe sat down on the bed in her skirt and bra. "I could ask him."

"HIM? Who's him!" She could hear Booth's thunderous pacing.

"Booth…" she groaned, her head throbbing. "I have no notion of who he is. I woke up nake… uh…" She stopped herself awkwardly.

She didn't know it, but the phone was slipping out of Seeley's hands as she said this. Suddenly, it occurred to him what she did last night. "Bones?" he asked quietly. "Did you have a one night stand?"

"I wouldn't consider it a one night stand. He didn't ditch me, or anything. I'm at his house."

"Just _how_ drunk did you get last night?" Seeley asked still more or less composed.

"I don't exactly remember…" Tempe trailed off.

The FBI agent shut his eyes and tried to pacify himself. "Get me his address. I'm coming to pick you up."

Temperance complied. She set her phone down, slipped on her jacket and walked out into Jake's hallway. "Um… Jake?" she called out to him.

"Yeah, sexy?" he answered from down the hall.

"Could you come over here?"

"Ok. I'm coming."

Temperance could hear his footsteps as he neared her. He appeared soon. "Um… I'm going to have a friend of mine pick me up. I need your address."

"Oh, totally! I'll write it down." They went back into his room.

Temperance picked up her cell phone. "Booth? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Did you get the address?" he asked, impatiently.

"Not yet. He's writing it down." Jake finished and gave the paper to Tempe. "Ok. I have it now. It's 2947 Denison drive. Do you have it?"

Seeley wrote it down quickly. "Yeah. I'll be there soon. I know the area. I've got family there."

"Ok. When is our flight, Booth?" Tempe asked anxiously.

"We missed it, Bones. I'm going to call the FBI and ask them to get us another one. We probably lost our reservations at the hotel, too," he added.

"I'm really sorry…"

"I know, Bones. I forgive you, but this won't make you any more popular with Cullen."

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Shortly after Booth picked up Temperance's suitcase, he arrived at an all too familiar looking house. He got out of his car and walked swiftly to the front double doors and rang the doorbell. One of the doors opened after about thirty seconds. Booth looked into the face of his cousin.

"Jake!" he gaped.

"Yo! Dude! I haven't seen you in years!" Jake Booth slapped Seeley on the back. "Come on in."

"So you're the 'Jake' guy…" Booth furrowed his eyebrows as Jake led him into the foyer.

"You here to pick up, Terri?" Jake asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Terri? You mean Temperance?" asked Booth with and edge of anger in his tone.

"Dude I never remember their names! You would know, man. We talk the same language." Booth snarled under his breath as Jake knocked on his bedroom door. "Terr- Temperance? Your ride's here."

Before the boys knew it, Temperance was out the bedroom door, hurtling down the stairs, sliding out the double doors and flying into Booth's car.

"Dude! It was cool seeing you! Visit anytime! Well… not anytime… I usually have… prior arrangements. If you know what I mean…" Jake turned around finding Booth already gone.

Booth pulled out of the driveway and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and speed dialed Deputy Director Cullen.

"Cullen."

"Sir, this is Agent Booth. What's the case info?"

"You missed your flight, but we emailed you and Dr. Brennan your new ticket." Temperance immediately brought her laptop out and booted it up. "You've got a couple hours before your next flight leaves, but I'd get there as soon as possible. The hotel information is emailed as well. Good luck, Booth."

"Thank you, sir." Booth snapped his phone shut. "You got the message?" he asked Temperance.

"Just a second… Is it normal for the alpha male to not say goodbye or is that just you and Cullen? Do you two have 'relationship issues'? I- Angela always wondered about you two. Don't look at me like that! Sorry… not relevant. Ok. We've got coach… "

"It's not big deal. Not as good as first class, but we can handle it, maybe…" Booth suppressed a grin.

"Are you trying to make me feel bad?" Temperance pouted jokingly.

"You should! You slept with my cousin! How can I even look at you, now?"

"I didn't know he was your cousin, Booth. Besides, I was somewhat under the influence."

"Somewhat! Understatement! And it's your fault you got drunk."

"Well… Angela told me to."

"If Angela told you to jump over a bridge, would you?" asked Booth, using the most overused parenting line ever.

"Why would Angela tell me to jump over a bridge?" asked Temperance, obviously unfamiliar with this saying. "Why do you always do what Cullen tells you to do?"

"Because he's my boss. And if I didn't obey him, I'd get fired, and you'd never see me again."

"Wouldn't that be a shame?"

"You're being sarcastic… This is new."

"Are you implying that I typically speak monotonously?"

"Why would I imply that, Bones? Friends don't imply things like that."

"Oh so we're friends now?"

"What's that supposed to mean? We're partners. We've got each other's backs. We're tight!"

"I don't know what you mean. What does pressure have to do with anything?" Booth didn't feel like answering this rhetorical question. He had to get the car parked anyway, because they had arrived at the airport.

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The plane ride was full of case discussion, poker, walkmans, and books. Four hours later and without trouble, Seeley and Temperance had arrived at the beautiful island of Maui. They were in the car using the directions sent to Tempe by email, to find their hotel.

After a half hour of deciphering road maps, they reached a very grungy looking hotel called Lei Down Resort.

"Oh joy… bad puns. I can't wait," Booth groaned while Tempe smiled guiltily.

"I think it's… clever."

'Is Bones trying to make the best out of a terrible and hopeless situation? Bones, who usually goes with whatever is given to her and analyzes it as it is and never masks it into something it isn't. Hmm… that was deep! She's probably just trying to make me feel better about her screwing Jake.'

They got out of their rented car and walked into the lobby of the small, dirty hotel. Tempe thought she saw something scuttle across the floor and under a shabby tweed couch. Near it was a fake fichus, its leaves fading to a puce color. The disgusted FBI agent and forensic anthropologist walked on an unpolished hardwood floor, molding in corners, to the desk in the middle of the room. Booth got the keys to their room from a gum chewing, fat woman attempting the 'hooker' look.

Since there was no elevator, Booth and Tempe took the stairs to the sixth floor, panting as they reached room 666 which was theirs… Booth stood there dejectedly, so Temperance opened the door to a shock.

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**AN- My sorry attempt at a cliffhanger, which I didn't anticipate doing, by the way. I just wanted them to get in their room and go to sleep, but NO! MY BRAIN JUST HAD TO THINK OF SOMETHING CLEVER DIDN'T IT! Ok, I'm sorry for the long wait and I hope this long chapter is kind of worth it. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones… at all… but I do own Déjà Dead, Death Du Jour, and Deadly Décisions, which are some of the books that Bones is based off of and I'm in the middle of Death Du Jour RIGHT NOW! Woot!**

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There, on the floor of their hotel room, was a naked shining body of a woman, blood seeping from her forehead disappearing into the cheap red carpet. Booth ran into the room and checked the woman's pulse. He looked up at Temperance sadly. 

"The bleeding suggests that she was killed shortly before we entered the hotel. The killer must have left just before we arrived." Tempe walked into the room and sat on one of the unstable, unmade, twin-sized beds. It creaked under her weight.

"I'm going to go downstairs and ask some questions. You call Cullen and tell him we've been delayed." Booth tossed Tempe his cell phone and left the room.

Temperance searched for Cullen's number and called. Three rings later, he picked up.

"Cullen."

"Sir, this is Dr. Brennan. We've arrived safely on the island, but we found a cadaver in our room."

"You're kidding." Tempe heard the obvious doubt in the director's voice.

"We wish we were. I-"

"Where's Agent Booth?" Cullen asked, no doubt unhappy talking to a squint.

"He went downstairs to inquire as to the previous owner of our room, I suspect."

Cullen sighed. "Tell Booth not to worry with this murder. It's not our jurisdiction. Call the coroner for the body and get to the morgue to see your current assignment. Don't fiddle with matters that don't concern us."

"Yes, sir." He hung up before she could say bye. 'Men!' she thought to herself then found the coroner's number in the phonebook and dialed.

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Booth walked right up to the main desk to the fat hooker lady and leaned on the desk waiting for her to get off the phone.

"No! He didn't! Why didn't you tell him to go and f…" It seemed as if she'd be at this for a while. Impatient and agitated, Booth began furiously tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Ugh… I have to go, babe. Yeah… some guy is waiting for me. You just go tell that son of a bitch to suck himself. You can do so much better than that ass! Ok! Aloha!" She finally hung up. "Can I help you?" she asked Booth, not caring if he really needed help or not.

"Actually yeah! Do you know of the person who resided in room 666 before me?"

"We don't keep records of room occupiers."

"Did you see someone get out of here really fast before we came?"

"Uh… I was kind of busy! So stop asking me questions like I'm a security guard or something!"

"Do you even have a security guard here?" Booth didn't wait for her to respond. He stormed back upstairs and into his room.

"Booth, Cullen says not to bother with this one." Booth heard Tempe's voice somewhere out of sight.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"There's a washer and dryer in the bathroom. I'm cleaning the sheets." Booth stepped over the corpse, walked around a corner and almost ran into his germaphobic partner. "Cullen says that this murder isn't the FBI's jurisdiction. I called the coroner. He'll be here in a few minutes. This is for the sheriff to worry about. We're already late."

"You're right. We should get to the local morgue and start working on the real reason we're here. I'm just concerned with the fact that we found a dead body in our room. There's a murderer out there. If we had gotten here ten minutes earlier, we could've caught him. Did you examine her?" Booth asked.

"I didn't touch her at all. I've told you before. I don't work with skin." Tempe shut the washer door and turned around. Her body was inches from his when she first realized how incredible small the bathroom was and that it didn't have a door. She looked at his face. He was focused on the ground evidently upset at the current events. "I'm sorry, Booth. There's nothing we can do."

"She looks young…" he looked back at Tempe.

"I know." She held his gaze.

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The coroner crew came within fifteen minutes and retrieved the body, executing the ritualistic task like clockwork. Booth and Tempe oversaw the procedure willingly and soon joined dead girl at the morgue to perform their actual responsibility.

Temperance pulled on her surgical gloves while walking to a skeleton lain out anatomically on a lab table. Seeley followed closely behind her. Tempe immediately began studying the bones. She looked at the pelvic bone, which showed the characteristics of a female. She added to the evidence by observing the very feminine cheekbones. "The victim was a woman, Caucasian according to the attributes of the jaw and cheekbones."

"That doesn't give us much to go on, Bones," Seeley said as he flipped through the crime scene photos. They showed a mutilated body, it's race and sex unidentifiable. The victim had been tied up, thrown into the ocean, and completely disfigured by sharks.

"Where was the victim restrained?" Tempe asked. "The wrists right?" She walked up to Booth to look at the pictures. "That's unusual…" She looked back at the skeleton.

"What's unusual?" Booth asked.

"There are no markings on the wrists to suggest that she tried to stop from being tied up."

"What are you saying, Bones? Are you implying that this girl let herself get roped up and thrown to the sharks?" he asked incredulously.

"No, Booth. I'm saying that she may have been unconscious when it happened, or already dead."

"But the autopsy report says that there were no other injuries other than the shark bites." Booth flipped through some folders.

"Did the blood samples show any traces of being drugged?" Tempe didn't look up from the bones.

"No…" Booth ran a hand through his hair. "So what we have is a body of a girl, age unknown, who didn't defend herself as she was being tied up. She wasn't drugged or dead. Do you think she could have been sleeping?" he asked doubtfully.

"There's no way to prove that, Booth." She began taking notes. "I believe the victim may have been between the ages of thirteen to seventeen."

"Oh god… the autopsy says that she had been involved in sexual intercourse shortly before her death."

Temperance looked up. "Rape?"

Booth paused. "Deliberate… This girl knew this guy. She voluntarily had sex with him. She wasn't drugged or intoxicated in any way. Do you think maybe he killed her after their little rendezvous?"

"Booth, you know I'm not scenario girl."

"Yeah, but you're brain girl and I really need some different opinions. This guy is obviously sick and twisted."

"Anything that has to do with feeding people to sharks is twisted, Booth."

"Do you really think that?" Booth stopped. "Do you suppose that's what this guy's doing? Feeding girls to sharks?"

Temperance shuddered inwardly. "I don't know, Booth. She was thrown into the ocean, so… Wait! How could I be so unfocused?"

"What? Did you get a thought? Share!"

"Let me see the autopsy reports," Tempe said without heeding to Booth's demand.

"No, Bones. You're going to tell me what's going on in that pretty little noggin of yours."

Temperance didn't react to that remark. "Booth! We don't know if the victim was fed to the sharks or not. We don't know how long she was in the water before they found her body and started lunch. The autopsy will tell us how long the body was in the water before the bite marks were made."

"I already looked, Bones. She was in the water for two days before she washed up on shore," said Booth, not following her.

"No, no, no." Tempe shook her head. "That was the total time she was in the water, from before she was eaten to when she was found onshore. The details show that she was alive when first in the water, conscious or not we don't know. The loss of blood from the shark wounds killed her."

"The sharks killed her," Booth restated. "Not blood loss."

Tempe rolled her eyes. "I guess it's how you view it. We can both agree that it was the sharks that caused the death. What we just need to know is if the cause of death is what her murderer originally wanted."

"Her killer wanted this girl dead. That's all we need to know, Bones!"

She held up her hands. "Booth! You're getting away from the point. The sharks caused her death."

"The murderer caused his death!" Booth covered his face and began to cry.

Temperance walked up to him. "The victim… was a girl, Booth. I have a feeling that this… has nothing to do with this murder. Is there something you want to tell me, Booth? Do you want to take a break and talk about what's really bothering you?"

"Are you a shrink now, Bones?" Booth asked sarcastically.

"No, but I'm your friend and I care about you."

Booth sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it now. It's just… a long story. Go on with what you were saying…"

"Alright… Well, if the autopsy statement says that the victim was in the water a while before the sharks killed her then the murderer just wanted her to drown. On the other hand, if the sharks killed her immediately after being submerged in the water then the shark killing was intentional. As you very well know, I'm not well versed in the human psyche so I'm not the one to ask about murderers and their warped brains. You need an expert for that."

Booth opened the file again. "Guess we have a shark feeder on our hands. Instantly. I quote, 'within minutes'. Remind me never to watch 'Jaws'." Temperance furrowed her brow in unfamiliarity. "'Jaws'? The famous shark movie? Steven Spielberg?"

"Oh I know him. He's that attractive male actor Angela's always talking about." Temperance nodded her head in understanding as Booth shook his head with a grin at _another_ one of Tempe's pop culture screw-ups.

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**So yeah! Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I'm sorry it keeps taking so long for me to update. I just keep stopping in the middle of a thought to go do something for my mom or something and I lose my train of thought. Shorter than the last chapter. I just had to put this one up. Please review some more! Make my inbox happy! I hope I got all of the anthropologic stuff kind of right... Oh well, you all get the picture. Oh yeah and I'm now kind of done with Death Du Jour... And as an obvious end not, I LOVE KATHY REICHS!  
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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones. I'm just waiting for Fatal Voyage to arrive… But I do own Ohayioumou Nude Beach, because I made it up. It's strictly coincidence if there is such a thing!

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Temperance walked by the autopsy room on her way back to the morgue. She had been supervising the storage of the shark victim. Tempe turned her head slightly as if to view the workings on the cadaver that was found in her and Booth's hotel room, but only to see a solid black door. She felt her hand go up to the doorknob, but pulled away. 'It's not our jurisdiction. Not my job…' she told herself and stared straight ahead, walking directly into the morgue room. It was empty.

"Booth?" she called. "Damn it!" she swore when no one answered. She swerved headlong into someone's chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I-It was my fault!" A tall skinny guy with messed up red hair stuttered. "Y-you must be Dr. Brennan."

Tempe straightened herself out. "Yes, and you are?" she asked politely.

"Oh!" the guy scratched his head. "I'm Max –uh Dr. Collins." Max held out a hand. Tempe accepted.

"Good evening, Dr. Collins. Have you seen my partner, Agent Booth, around?"

"I'm really s-sorry, Dr. Brennan, but I think he left."

Temperance stepped back to allow Max in the morgue. "He left?" She was stung. He didn't even tell her that he was leaving. "Do you know where he went? Did he leave a note? Was there anyone in here when I was gone?" She grabbed Max's lab coat collar. "Tell me!"

Max held up his arms. "Ok, ok! He told me to tell you something. C-could you l-let go of me?" Tempe released him angrily. "He told me to tell you to go back to the hotel. He h-has some business to take care of."

"Go home! He wants me to go home! What a cocky son of a b-"

"Uh… Dr. Brennan? I d-don't like to hear swear words…" Max mumbled.

Temperance took a deep breath. "Ok, Dr. Collins. I need you to tell me if anyone talked to Booth while I was gone. Please."

"Y-yeah… there was a guy." Max shuffled to his desk and sat down.

Tempe rolled her eyes. "Could you describe him please?" she asked slowly.

"Tall… bald… dark sunglasses. He had a scar on his face. He was w-wearing a suit… Th-that's all I remember. Sorry Dr. Brennan…" he pulled on his earlobe nervously. "Dr. Brennan?" he turned around. She was already gone.

----------

'Go back to the hotel, my ass!' She walked to the parking lot, every step forceful and angry. She stopped in shock. 'He took… the car… Now I have to take the bus!'

Before she could continue down the sidewalk, a gloved hand came from behind her, smothering her mouth and nose in a cloth that smelled like chloroform. The other gloved hand clasped her arm tightly to prevent her struggling. She slowly stopped squirming as the chloroform began its job. She relaxed in her attacker's grip and blacked out within seconds.

----------

This lead seemed to be going nowhere. Booth followed the man in black, as he dubbed him. The man had come straight up to Booth in the morgue while he was waiting for Tempe to return. The man called himself Gale Shyam. He had dark skin and a scar running from his left eye to the corner of his mouth.

Gale had introduced himself to Booth. "My name is Gale Shyam," he had said. "My employer has some information about the shark girl case that he thinks you might want to know."

Booth had raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "And who is this employer of yours. Don't even think about telling me that he would like to remain anonymous, 'cause that'd just be too cliché for my taste."

Gale had just smiled revealing straight, bleached-white teeth. "Mr.-"

"Agent," Booth corrected.

Gale smiled again. "Agent Booth, my employer is a very powerful man. He is doing you a favor in granting you with this information. I suggest you quietly and patiently heed his demands."

"Well, let me break it to you Mr. Shyam. I work for very powerful men, as well. I like to call them the FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation. You might have heard of them." Booth had stood up. He had towered over Gale.

Gale had chuckled. "Very well, Agent Booth. I will tell you all about the business on the way. We're running out of time."

Since Booth preferred to be in control, he took his own car and was the one driving and getting directions from Gale. They were on the road for half an hour when they reached a rocky deserted beach. Booth put the car in park and got out. He followed Gale onto the rocks where a little rowboat was floating in the water.

Booth stopped. "This may come as a surprise, but I don't trust you."

"Alright, then. You may leave." Gale stepped carefully into the boat.

Booth looked back at his car and sighed in submission. "Fine, fine! I'm coming, but this had better be good." He climbed in the boat.

"Oh it will, sir. It will." Gale smiled again and untied the rope from a rock jutting out from the water. He pushed off the rock and they went on their way.

Booth and Gale were in the boat for ten minutes in silence when Gale pointed out a little shack on the beach. "Why did we have to take the boat?" Booth asked.

"The beach between your car and this place is completely impassible. It is infested with venomous snakes. They like to lurk in those rocks. It is dark and cold," Gale had replied.

"I see…" They rowed back to a less rocky beach and pulled the boat into the sand to keep it from floating away. There had been nothing to tie it to.

There, Booth was, following Gale into the shack. He had told Booth nothing about his business the whole way here. The man in black held the door open for Booth who wasn't moving.

"I want to know, Mr. Shyam. What is the reason for my being here? Will I benefit your employer in any way? Do I even know him?"

Gale stepped back out of the shack and closed the door. He faced Booth. "You will not do good to him, but your partner will. He has great use for Dr. Brennan. That is the deal. You get the information about your case and he gets the woman."

Booth frowned. "I _never_ agreed to that deal."

"You agreed to come here for information, Agent Booth."

"Then don't inform me. I'd rather not make deals with your kind anyway."

"My kind, Agent Booth? Hindu?" Gale raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Of course not, Mr. Shyam. Your business is obviously dirty and I don't want to get into it." Booth discreetly checked if he still had his gun. "So what is it? Drug running? Is your employer a hit man or something?"

Gale chuckled. "You do not trust me, Agent Booth."

"Did you just figure this out? I didn't trust you from the first moment I laid eyes on your unnerving smile."

"Hmm…" Gale was obviously amused with something.

"You never intended on giving me information, did you, Mr. Shyam?" Booth narrowed his eyes. "Why did you bring me here?"

Gale frowned. "I will let you think about that, Agent Booth."

It was silent between them, but a war was waging in Booth's head. 'He wanted me with him, but why? Am I supposed to be watched so I don't see something? Am I being kept away from something? The morgue? The bodies? Bones! Damn it! I should have left her a message! I just left without thinking! She's probably looking for me. Or she could still be at the morgue like the smart girl she is, working on those skeletons… She's looking for me. Shit. Wait… Shyam is keeping me from Bones!' Booth's eyes widened. Gale smirked.

"Would you give me a minute, Mr. Shyam?" Gale nodded. Booth pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed Temperance. He heard a few rings and then her voice saying to leave a message or call her at a different number. 'Shit.'

Gale watched as Booth ran to the boat and kicked off the beach into the water. "He's gone, sir."

"_That's ok, Gale. We stalled him for a long while. Everything is going according to plan._" A voice was heard in the speaker in Gale's ear. Gale turned around and opened the door to the shack. There were stairs that led underground. He took them and disappeared into the darkness below.

Booth reached the part of rockier beach where he parked his car. He didn't bother to rope the boat back up. He had no time. He rushed to his car slipping on the wet rocks.

A half hour later, he was at the morgue. He ran in wet and sandy to the room where he had been just a couple hours before. It was empty. He went to the front desk where a thin, young, Hawaiian woman was sitting at her computer. "Excuse me, miss."

The woman looked up. "Yes, Agent Booth?"

"Has Dr. Brennan been in here lately?" Booth asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"I'm sorry, sir. She left about an hour ago to find you. Would you like to leave a message in case she comes back?"

"Yes, thank you." The woman pulled out a notepad and waited. "Just tell her that I'll be at the hotel." The woman nodded and pinned the note onto a board.

Booth pushed off of the desk. There was nothing he could do, now. He had no leads. 'Security cameras!' He turned back to the woman. "Sorry, miss, but can you tell me where the security room is?"

"Of course, sir. I'll take you there, myself." She got up and stepped in front of Booth leading him down the hall, to the right, and up to a door labeled 'SECURITY'. The woman unlocked it. "Good luck, sir," she said and left him alone.

Booth pushed the door open and entered the dark, airless room. He looked through the tapes and chose the ones marked 'MORGUE ROOM', 'MORGUE HALL', and 'PARKING LOT'. He slipped all of the tapes into different tape players and rewound them an hour and twenty minutes back.

He saw Temperance walk down the hallway and stop at the autopsy room, just about to open the door, but she stopped and continued into the morgue. She entered the room and looked around. She called out his name and cursed at the silence. He watched her turn into a tall man in a white lab coat.

He introduced himself as Dr. Max Collins. She asked about Booth. Max had said that Booth left a message for her when he escorted Booth to the door. That wasn't true. Booth didn't leave a message. He had never seen Dr. Collins in his life. Max described Gale Shyam.

Booth knew what would happen next. Tempe had been lied to and she didn't know it. Max was setting her up. Booth watched Tempe angrily walk through the hallway. She disappeared off the screen for a minute and reappeared on the third screen of the parking lot. She practically stomped to the cars and stopped, seeing that Booth had taken the car.

"Whoops…" Booth just realized that he left Temperance without a ride home. "I really am a cocky son a bitch."

Temperance turned back onto the sidewalk. Booth watched someone dressed in black silently follow her. The figure suddenly covered Tempe's face and grabbed her to stop her from escaping. She resisted, but the abductor had her in a lock. Booth leaned forward as she passed out. This was what he had been waiting for.

The man or woman threw Tempe over his or her shoulder and carried her to a blue station wagon. Booth could just barely make out the license plate number. The car drove off leaving the parking lot almost empty.

Booth fast forwarded the tape but stopped it when he saw something unexpected.

---------

The back of Temperance's head hurt like hell. She was lying on a hard packed, dirt ground. The soil was unusually cool. 'Great… again I wake up in an unknown place with a headache!' She assumed the pain in her head was an effect of the chloroform.

She opened her eyes to find that she was in a cave. There were chains on the wall and red marks on her wrist. 'Great…' she said again. 'I've been bound and most likely raped.' Tempe sat up and found that she was free. She wasn't tied up and she was alone. She got up and ran out of the cave, but skidded to a halt and almost fell off a cliff.

"Oh my God…" Tempe took in her surroundings. She looked over the cliff onto an empty beach, for it was early in the morning. There was a sign right next to her on the cliff that read, 'Ohayioumou Nude Beach: Ladies Only'.

The beach was bordered with caution tape. 'Is this… God, this is where the shark victim was found,' she remembered the FBI reports saying something about a nude beach. 'I can't… God… How the hell am I getting down from here?' '**The ladder**,' a voice, not her own, said in her head. "What ladder?" Tempe looked around, getting oh so close to he edge of the cliff looking over. On the right side, she felt a ladder with her foot, going down to the beach.

She took a deep breath and stepped onto it, slowly climbing down. The ladder was unsteady as she made her way down to the beach. 'Thank God I'm not afraid of heights.' Her foot felt warm sand, and she let out a breath. '**There's a dirt path to a parking lot. You'll find a dark green car parked in lot 4A. The keys are on the hood. Go to your hotel. Agent Booth will be there. You know what to do.**'

A look of resolve came over Temperance's face. Her eyes darkened as she followed the orders given to her. The promised car was there. She got in and drove down an empty one-way street into the distance.

* * *

**So! Who the heck is talking to Temperance? What the heck is going on? I dunno! Hee hee hee… Thank you all for your TWO reviews on chapter five. Gosh people… Anyway, I hope those of you who read this enjoy this chapter! It's summer, so I'll try to update sooner. I think I finally know what's going on!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer- I don't own Bones… But I do own Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, and Bare Bones! Woot!

Booth was sitting on one of the beds in the hotel room that he and Tempe shared. He felt the need to incessantly tap his fingers on the side table to the left of his bed. Seeley Booth knew that if something happened to Temperance, he would punish himself for the rest of his life, but he had nothing to go on. He had already called the local DMV asking for information on the license plate number of the blue station wagon. They told him he'd have it in a day or two but Seeley knew that FBI Ids could be very mind altering. He'd get their call in a couple hours.

Seeley had nothing to do but wait. He didn't want to enjoy himself when Temperance could be out there in need of help, but where the hell could he look? He continued tapping his fingers.

Five hours later, he woke up leaning against the headboard with his hand still on the nightstand. It took a moment to realize where he was. He turned around to look at the other bed hoping to see Temperance lying there. His expectation was shot down when he took in the image of that empty, unused bed.

Seeley ran a disconcerted hand through his messed up hair and sighed. "Where the hell is she?" he asked the abandoned room. His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh my god!" Booth smacked his forehead. He reached for his cell phone on the nightstand and dialed Tempe's cell phone number anticipating the anthropologist's voice or the voice of her abductor.

His wish was granted: "Thank you for calling Dr. Temperance Brennan's cell phone. I'm not available right now, but please leave your name and phone number and a brief message and I will return your call as quickly as possible. Thank you."

Booth spoke into the receiver. "Bones. I know this is pointless leaving you a message… I just… God, I hope you're-" A slender hand took the phone from Seeley's hands and snapped it shut. Thunk. The phone was dropped on the ground behind him. Booth turned around.

"Bones! Who took you? Did you escape? Did he let you go? What the hell happened? I'm sorry I left. I was so worried. I-" Tempe's lips swallowed the rest of Booth's words.

He was dazed by her action that at first he barely felt the blade impale his gut. Pain shot through Booth's eyes. He looked down at his stomach seeing a dagger sticking from it. He raised his quickly blurring vision to the woman standing before him.

Tempe's eyes were dark; the blue of her irises disappearing into her pupils. Suddenly she felt a pain in the back of her neck. The blue returned as she doubled over, hand on the bed for support. "Booth?" She looked at Seeley, oozing blood from the stab wound she knew she inflicted. She was short of breath and felt something digging into the back of her neck.

"Temperance. Why did you…?" Booth moaned in pain.

"God Booth. Seeley. I'm so sorry. I couldn't help… I knew what I was doing… I couldn't stop…" She lifted her hair and felt behind her head. Something small and hard was sticking from her lower skull where she knew her cerebellum was. She grabbed hold of it and pulled, collapsing from the throbbing in every vein of her body. "AH!" Tempe shrieked as she yanked the thin wire from her head.

Booth watched all of her movements through half-closed eyes. He saw her fall to the floor in exhaustion. He saw her slowly rise after a few minutes and look into his eyes. Then he saw nothing.

Tempe dialed 911 immediately. The ambulance came within minutes. She slipped the wire into a plastic bag for testing and put it carefully in her purse before leaving with Booth to the hospital.

An hour later, Booth was lying in a hospital bed and Temperance was in the hallway sitting in a chair outside the ER. Booth was stable. The blade barely punctured his small intestine. The dagger and wire were recorded as evidence her fingerprints on both.

Temperance knew she'd have to deal with a ton of trials. She wasn't charged yet with attempted murder, but she understood that it was inevitable. The wire was her only way to prove that her brain was being messed with. She didn't know if Booth was on her side or not.

A doctor opened the door next to her to welcome her in. "He's in a poor condition. You can't stay for long. You also need to get your brain checked out in the neurology section. That wire could have done extensive damage to your cerebellum." Tempe looked at the good doctor. He was handsome in an old rugged British Anthony Stewart Head kind of way.

Tempe rose from her seat and slowly stepped through the doorway and stood just inside the room. The doctor closed the door behind him as he left the room to give them privacy.

Booth was sitting up in his bed. "Hey Bones." Tempe could hear an edge in his voice but she could tell he was trying to act like it never happened. "God Bones. I'm not going to bite." Booth grinned slightly.

Temperance took a few steps forward. "I'm really, really, really, really sorry, Booth. I…" she sighed. "I know apologizing won't help, but…" she looked down.

Booth's grin melted away. "Bones, I can't help being a little pissed. You stabbed me. I guess I just… I trusted you." Temperance opened her mouth to defend herself, but Booth held up a hand to silence her. "I know it wasn't your fault and there's nothing you could have done. I guess it just scares me that someone could do this to you."

Temperance stared at him. "What you mean is… you subconsciously think that I let it happen." She looked away.

"I know you didn't, Bones. You always seem so strong and independent like nothing can happen to you. I guess I've just come to believe it. Something like this occurring… It's just surreal."

"Someone violated my mind, Seeley. You and I both know that this wasn't my fault." Tempe fought back tears. A look of resolve came over her features as she turned to look back at her partner. "Are you with me or not, Agent Seeley Booth?"

Booth's lips curved into a smile. "What do you think, Bones? 'Course I am!"

Temperance returned the smile. "So did the doctor tell you how long you're going to be here?"

"Yeah. Legally, he can't make me stay more than a night, but he suggests I stay about a week." He sounded disappointed.

"What about the case?" Tempe asked, her good mood quickly sinking. She knew the answer.

"Cullen is pulling us off. He's putting new agents on it. We're supposed to write reports for the newbies and get back to Washington DC." Seeley noticed Tempe's dejected expression. "The killer knows you, Bones. He knows what you look like and how to get to you. You don't want to be here."

"I want to help catch him, though, Booth! I want to put that guy behind bars. We could use me as bait! He obviously wants you dead. So maybe we could use you as bait. I like that plan better."

"Don't you get it Bones? I have orders. I follow my orders. And if you can't tell, I've kind of disabled." Booth pointed to his bandaged stomach.

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty again?"

"Sure. It's something to do. But the point is, we're leaving Hawaii. We're going back home. You've got a day to pack."

Tempe raised her eyebrows. "I never unpacked, Booth…"

"True," Booth agreed. "So what do you want to do for twenty four hours?"

"Theories!" Booth rolled his eyes. "I can't just drop this case so quickly, Booth. It's sick and twisted, but so intoxicating."

"Alright. I have a few theories. First of all, I think Gale Shyam and your abductor are connected."

Temperance walked closer to Booth and vacated the chair to his right. "Who is Gale Shyam?" she asked.

"He's the guy that I went with the night you were taken. He led me to this empty beach. There was this little hut or a shack or something. I didn't go in, because I realized he was keeping distracting me for a reason; feeding me false information." Booth didn't regale his partner that Gale had wanted her in return for the info. "I hurried back to the morgue looking for you. I even asked to see the security tapes. Apparently you talked to a man named Max Collins?" Booth asked for her to concur.

Tempe nodded. "Yeah, he was acting a bit off..."

"I have reason to believe that he was the one who snatched you up last night." He waited for a response.

"I don't… No, he didn't seem like… What are your reasons for this hypothesis?"

"I got a call from the DMV after Cullen and I talked. I had asked for information concerning the license plate number of the car you were thrown into. The videos showed that same car drive back into the parking lot and the same man walked out. Max Collins." He watched Tempe's surprised face.

"Well that wasn't expected… What an asshole."

"I agree." Booth nodded.

"So. Any other ideas?" Tempe asked.

"Kind of. The shark girl was fed to sharks. We've established this. There's got to be a reason. Are they his pets? Is he going to sell them? Or is he just a sick bastard?"

"I think having sharks for pets falls under the category of being a sick bastard." Fury seeped though her blood.

"I guess. But I think these murders have to do with this Shyam character and his 'powerful' employer. They're involved in something dirty."

Tempe quickly caught on. "You think that sharks are being sold to Shyam."

"Right. I think this is black market stuff."

"But that doesn't make any sense, Booth. People eat shark meat all the time. They sell it in grocery stores around the world. It's not illegal."

"Just consider this for a second, Bones. What came first: the chicken or the egg?" Booth asked.

"That's a rhetorical question."

"Could we look past the obvious for a second please? What came first: your shark girl murderer or the partnership between Gale and this unknown murderer?"

"Oh! I see what you're saying. Gale and his employer are into the black market. There's this murderer feeding bodies to sharks. What better way to get rid of the sharks that hold the evidence of murders than sell it on the black market where no one cares if the shark ate someone or not?"

"You've hit the nail right on the head, Bones! See, you can be scenario girl sometimes."

"But this isn't for sure, Booth. We've got to consider the options."

"You're out of time, Miss Brennan. It's off to the neurologist with you." The Anthony Head wannabe was back ordering rest for Seeley.

"I'll be sleeping here tonight Booth! So if you need me I'll be outside," Tempe said quickly as Dr. Head pushed her into the hall.

Temperance thought about the things Booth said as she waiting for her test in the neurologist's office. 'What about the cave? That's obviously where the girls die. The killer slips a wire into their heads and makes them tie themselves up and throw themselves to the sharks. That's why there are no defense wounds on the bodies. And-' her thoughts were interrupted by the neurologist calling for a Brennan, leaving Temperance at a startling apprehension.

"Good morning, Miss Brennan. I'm Dr. O'Laughmiston. I know it's a weird name. Just call me Dr. O."

"Ok, Dr. O…"

"What's up, Miss Brennan?" Dr. O asked.

"An MRI apparently."

"We just need to see what's going on inside that little noggin of yours." Temperance felt personally offended. She thought Mr. O had said 'little noggin' to disparage her intelligence. But she didn't say anything.

The test began at 7:00am and she received her results at 9:00am, getting frequent calls from Booth asking how she was. Dr. O walked into the examination room as Tempe hung up with Seeley.

"There's nothing wrong with your cerebellum, Miss Brennan. The neurologist just drilled a small hole in your skull and slipped a wire in your brain. The wire didn't go down too far and the hole in the bone will heal. You're fine, Miss Brennan. The doctor who did this obviously knew the wire would be temporary. He didn't use a lot of material, but he knew what he was doing. If you don't mind, may I ask who performed this surgery?" Dr. O looked up from the paper containing Tempe's results.

Temperance didn't fully trust Dr. O. He seemed overly cheerful and it unnerved her. "I forget his name. Of course, I was drugged so I'm a little foggy on the details." Every lie must hold a hint of the truth.

----------

"Clearly he knew it'd be temporary. He thought you'd kill me then go jump off a cliff like the others," said Booth as Temperance flicked off the hospital room light. Booth had been moved from the ER to a regular room and a separate bed had been pulled up for Tempe.

"But that didn't happen." She adjusted herself on the small cot, trying to get comfortable: an impossible task.

"Way to state the obvious, Bones." Booth smiled in the dark as he stared up at the ceiling.

Tempe turned her body to face Seeley. "You need your rest, Booth. We're leaving early tomorrow."

"Damn it, Bones. I've been resting all day. It's boring." He swiveled his head to look at Tempe.

She closed her eyes and yawned. "Only boring people allow themselves to get bored," she said resignedly falling into herself.

Booth didn't answer as he could tell she was exhausted after a trying day. She looked so innocent as she slept. You'd never tell that she'd actually bite your hand off at a single touch.

Seeley Booth slowly feel asleep remembering that painful kiss of death…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones.

* * *

**

Seeley Booth woke up on his back; his head turned facing an empty, mussed up bed. It took a minute or two for him to adjust to his surroundings. There was an issue: he didn't remember really where he was. Soon, the fog began to lift and he remembered that he was in a hospital, because Temperance had stabbed him while being brainwashed by a wire attached to her brain. _It's like something from a science fiction movie!_ He snorted.

"Oh! You're awake!" A redheaded, plain looking nurse in pink scrubs turned around. "Are you feeling well? Do you need me to get you anything?" she asked in a high-pitched girlish voice.

"I'm just feeling a little… woowoowhoo!" He cleared his throat. "And a little dry mouthed."

The nurse crossed the room, filled a glass of water and handed it to Booth after helping him sit up. She picked up a clipboard that obviously contained Booth's medical files. "They've got you on a ton of vicodin and you can only drink fluids. Do you remember this?"

"Yeah…" Booth looked around, recalling that Temperance was not in the room. "Where's…?"

"Your companion left close to an hour ago to get breakfast from the café. She should be back any minute now." She set the clipboard back into the slot at the foot of his bed. "I'm going to inform the doctor that you're awake."

Five minutes later, Dr. 'Head' walked in with Temperance solemnly. She sat down next to Booth on the visitor's chair and resisted the urge to grab his hand in comfort. "The doctor has some bad news, Booth."

Dr. 'Head' picked up Booth's clipboard files from the slot and began flipping through them. "Agent Booth, I know you are aware already that for three weeks, you mustn't consume any solid foods. You're girlfriend has the vitamin instructions for you and your vicodin prescription. There are just a few more things that you need to do to help the small intestine heal. The first thing is bad news: you won't be walking for a month. The good news is: you'll be walking in only four weeks!"

"Damn it! At least this doesn't cut into my vacation time, since I technically got injured on the job." Booth looked at Temperance. "Well… if the jury thinks so. Maybe you… when you testify, you should take your shirt off! Wheelchairs… that'll be bad for my job, money."

Temperance looked at the doctor, who mouthed in reply 'painkillers…'. Temperance affirmed.

The nurse came back in. "There are some gentlemen waiting for you both in the lobby. One of the men called himself Deputy Director Cullen. Do you know him?"

Temperance rose from her seat. "Yes we know him. He's Agent Booth's boss. I'll go down to meet him." She left the room.

----------

Downstairs, Tempe saw Cullen sitting in a chair between two other important looking men. She hesitated for a moment, feeling the guilt washing over her again. Shaking it off, she purposely walked to the men.

Cullen looked up calmly. "Leave us, Dr. Brennan. We're not in the mood to get stabbed." One of the men chuckled. The other man stood up and held out a hand in greeting.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan. Special Agent Akamu Kanoa, here."

Temperance took his hand and shook it. It was warm, but calloused, like he worked outside all the time. His skin was a golden brown and his hair was like black coffee curling around his ears and ending at the neck. His beady black eyes pored into her watery orbs. They seemed oddly familiar, like something she saw once in a dream.

"Good morning, Agent Kanoa. Are you all here to take Booth and I to the airport?" Tempe asked.

Cullen stood up. "No, Dr. Brennan. We're escorting you to our jet. It's safer and quicker than public air travel. Is that ok with you, Dr. Brennan?" Cullen raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "We're just afraid you might try to kill all the passengers."

The seated man, who Tempe still didn't recognize, began to laugh again. He stood up and introduced himself as Assistant to Deputy Director, William Brown. "You're the Bone Lady!"

Temperance rolled her eyes. "My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. You will refer to me as Dr. Brennan, thank you," she said, irritation edged her voice.

"I apologize, Dr. Brennan." Mr. Brown's face still held traces of a smirk. He was handsome in a sinister kind of way. His eyes were ice blue; his skin was pale as snow. His hair was so blond it looked white and sprouting out in random places on his head. He was the polar opposite of Agent Kanoa. He didn't even offer his hand. Mr. Brown seemed to think of Temperance as a joke. He couldn't keep himself from chuckling every so often.

She found out from Cullen that Agent Kanoa wouldn't come with them back to Washington D.C. He also informed her that her trial would be held in a week and the jury was already not in her favor.

They soon saw Booth being pushed over by the nurse. Cullen thanked her as Temperance took over, pushing him in the same direction that Mr. Brown was going. Mr. Brown led them to a black SUV. He helped Booth get in the back seat. Temperance sat next to him and buckled up. Mr. Brown rounded the car and sat in the front seat. A few minutes later, Cullen came out of the hospital and soon took his seat on the passenger side. Mr. Brown pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.

The car ride was generally silent except for Booth, who was incessantly humming the tune to It's A Small World.

They arrived at the Hawaiian FBI headquarters near a landing strip. Half an hour later, Mr. Brown, Cullen, Temperance, and Booth were in the private jet taking off. It didn't take long for both Cullen and Mr. Brown to pull out their cell phones and start making "important business calls".

"This sucks!" Booth exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "We didn't even go to the beach."

Tempe turned to him and smiled. "I did."

"What? That's not fair." The drugs were making him act like a child.

"Well, when I woke up after I was ABDUCTED," she raised her voice to get Cullen's attention. "I was on the cliff above the beach where the shark girl's body was found."

"You never told me that," Booth pouted.

"I guess there was a lot going on…" Her voice faded as she fell into deep thought.

"It's obvious, then!" Booth's voice jerked her from her reflections. "The guy that wired you is the same guy that killed the shark girl. He wired her up to kill herself. Why didn't we think of this before?" Booth pretended to think. "Oh yeah! Because you left out valuable evidence."

"Booth! You were in the hospital, because I stabbed you! You had more relevant things to worry about other than where I was."

"On the contrary, Bones, I think it's very, very, very relevant. It's crucial that I know why you stabbed me!"

Both Director Cullen and Mr. Brown had ended their calls and were listening in on Booth and Brennan.

"Booth, you know I couldn't help it!"

"Exactly. You were 'brainwashed'." He held up air quotes. "It's important that we know where you were… 'Brainwashed', is it not? If we know where, we might find out, how, then who. Then that son of a bitch who messed with your mind will get thrown into jail and we'd be saving a ton of girls!"

Temperance rubbed her temples. "Whatever, Booth. Can we talk about this later?"

"No, Temperance." Booth was unblinking. "I want to talk about it now."

"Fine! I'll answer whatever you want answered."

"I know we both have theories. I told you mine, now I want to hear yours. First of all, what's his M.O.?"

She sighed. "He can't have an M.O. yet, Booth. As far as we know, he's only killed one girl and captured me."

"But the M.O. is still the same. He brainwashed both of you."

"I should have looked at the girl's remains, more thoroughly. I might've found a wire like mine, in her skull."

"We can get some more anthropologists on it, Dr. Brennan. They'll send you the information they get." It was Cullen entering the conversation.

"Thank you, Director," said Tempe.

"Ok, Bones. What are the similarities between you and the girl?"

"I don't know, Booth. All we know about her is that she was a teenager, which I'm not, and that she was Caucasian."

"Do you think she might've been a tourist?" Booth asked.

"We don't have enough evidence to support that. Just because she wasn't Hawaiian, doesn't mean she didn't live there."

"Well you were a tourist," he pointed out.

"Not really. I was there for business, not pleasure."

"Aw come on, Bones! You know I'm pleasurable to you!" They both knew how wrong that sounded, but decided not to make a comment. "And the murderer could have thought you were a tourist."

"I doubt it. He knew I was working with you. That's why he wanted me to kill you."

Booth groaned. "Fine, then… Just shoot down my ideas!"

"They aren't stupid. You asked me to answer so they're honest, logical answers."

"God this sucks!" Booth smacked his forehead. "There's nothing more we can do until we get the info on the shark girl."

"Actually, Booth. There is _one _body we haven't taken into consideration, yet."

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 

"You're right, Bones! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're on a considerable amount of vicodin."

"I have one last question for you, Bones…" A grin slowly began to spread on Booths' features.

"Go for it." Temperance looked at him in expectation.

"Why did you kiss me before you stabbed me?" His was a full-on grin as he noticed Tempe's cheeks burn a bright pink. Soon, he was under a strong laughing spell, joined soon by Mr. Browns infuriating chuckling. Temperance silently glared at the both of them.

"Was it good?" Mr. Brown asked in between laughs.

"Oh yeah! I could barely feel the knife afterwards!"

Temperance huffed and turned to look out the window. The men continued to express amusement.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you!" she exclaimed.

Booth stopped laughing but still had a grin on his face. "Why not, Bones?"

"Because you don't deserve to know, _Seeley_!" she scorned him, saying his name in a high-pitched voice.

The trip was hushed the rest of the way. They arrived in Washington D.C. many hours later, the tension between each of them could be cut with a knife. Each traveler was taken to his or her house. The next morning would be hell.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer- I don't own Bones.

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**

For the first time in two nights, Temperance was waking up in her own bed. _Today is going to be a good day, _she thought to herself. She rolled onto her stomach, very successfully falling off the bed. _Or not…_ She sat up on her knees and ran a hand through her hair, realizing she hadn't taken a shower since before she left for Hawaii. _Oh God! I must smell like the dump._

She took a twenty-minute shower then soaked in a bubble bath until her fingers pruned. Temperance stepped out smelling of apricot. She wrapped a dark blue towel around herself and combed her hair in the foggy mirror.

After getting dressed in a crisp blue shirt and black slacks, she decided to call Angela. She dialed her cell phone number and waited for an answer.

At the Jeffersonian, Angela just happened to be in her office when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and answered, "Hey, Brenn! Is there a reason you're calling from your house phone? Here? In Washington D.C. and NOT in Hawaii where you should be?"

Temperance should have expected a bombardment of questions. She smiled, just happy to finally hear Angela's voice. "Well, Booth and I got called off the case."

"No! Oh my God? Why?" she sounded distracted.

"Some things happened. Do you want me to tell you now? You sound preoccupied."

"Oh, its just there's been so many murders around here. I'm surprised Dr. Goodman hasn't called you. He probably still thinks you're in Hawaii. Do you want me to tell him you're back?" Angela asked, shuffling papers around on her desk.

"No, I'll just surprise him. I'll be there soon. I'm curious about all these murders."

Zack stepped into Angela's office, waiting patiently. "Ok, well sweetie? I've got to go, but I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Alright Ange. Bye." Tempe disconnected.

Angela hung up. "Give me a minute, Zack. I'm trying to find those evidence transfer forms."

"Was that Dr. Brennan?" Zack asked.

"Yes. She's back in Washington D.C. She and Booth got taken off of their assignment."

"Really? Do you know why?" he asked.

"Well Brenn's gonna tell me when she gets here." Angela located the paper she was searching for. She left her office followed closely by Zack.

"Dr. Brennan's coming back?" he asked.

"Yes, thank God. We've been busy as hell around here." They stopped in Dr. Goodman's office to drop of the transfer forms then went on their way to the hologram room where they stayed for an hour.

Temperance dabbed a little make up on and left for the Jeffersonian. She drove into the parking lot and was shocked to see a car in her reserved space. She groaned and parked in an unreserved space.

She showed her ID to the security guard and was let in. The unnatural hustling and bustling in her sanctuary startled her. The Jeffersonian was usually busy, but this was outrageous. _What the hell happened in the two short days I was gone?_

She arrived in her office to a nauseating sight. Mr. Brown was seated behind her desk, which was heaped with paperwork. "Can I help you with something, Mr. Brown?" she asked, trying to sound calm.

"Well there's a lot you can help me with," he said flirtatiously. Temperance ignored that comment. He went on. "I just wanted to inform you that you and Agent Booth are being put on these murders."

"Ok." She wasn't surprised at this change of assignment. The Jeffersonian was a madhouse. She expected the FBI building was the same on account of these homicides. Mr. Brown didn't leave. "Did you need something else, Mr. Brown?" she asked.

"Actually, yeah." He slowly rose from the chair and walked toward her. "I have this problem." He continued advancing on her. Temperance didn't move from the door. The closer he got to her, the darker her eyes got.

Seeley Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian around the same time that Temperance did. He had to check in with Dr. Goodman, who was informed that Dr. Brennan had returned as well. Booth called Cullen to tell him where he was. Then he walked towards Tempe's office. He opened the door to a most amusing sight.

Mr. Brown was moaning on the floor, holding his groin. "Bitch…" he let out between gasps.

Temperance knelt by him. "What? You asked me to touch it. I did what you requested." She turned around to look at Booth and winked. Booth stepped over Mr. Brown to Tempe's desk. He was going to lean on it, but decided against it seeing all the dangerously high piles of paper. He settled with the couch.

"Were you clued-up on the new job?" Booth asked, ignoring the squirming body on the ground.

Temperance walked behind her desk and began organizing the paperwork. "I'm sure it's in here somewhere. But yes. Mr. In-The-Red over there told me all about it."

"What did he do, Bones?" Booth chuckled.

"He was asking me for sexual favors." She sounded unfazed as she continued separating the papers.

Booth grinned. "And did you _favor_ him?" he asked.

"Yes. It didn't take long. We got really physical. He was on the ground in no time, struggling and thrusting. It was very satisfying." She didn't sound like she was teasing. Her voice was as level as it was when she talked to Zack about cadavers and viscera.

Booth stopped grinning. His face was white. He couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Uh… Bones?"

"Uh… Booth? Yeah… I'm kidding. What? Am I not supposed to do that?" Temperance asked.

"No!" he looked away.

"You believed me, didn't you?" Her indifferent expression soon morphed into a grin. "You believed me!" She laughed quietly to herself. It took a moment for her to realize something. Her smile disappeared. "Booth? Where's your wheelchair?" she asked walking over to him.

"I didn't like it," he replied.

"I don't care! The stitches won't heal properly if you walk around too much. Why the hell did Cullen put you on this case? He knows you can't work too hard! Damn it! I'm calling him!" She turned to her desk, but Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, his hands holding hers. He looked up into her periwinkle eyes.

"Cullen doesn't know and you're not going to tell him," he said. "Besides, I don't feel any pain."

"Yeah, Booth! Vicodin?" Temperance frowned.

He pulled her down to his level. "Please don't tell him, Bones. I asked to be on this case. Don't blow it for me."

She sighed. "I'm just worried that you're going to hurt yourself."

"I'll be fine, Temperance." He grinned. "I'm a tough guy."

"Don't use your charm smile on me." The ends of her mouth curved up involuntarily.

They were silent, smiling at each other, until, "Do you guys… have a thing?" The moaning had stopped. Mr. Brown was standing by the door watching them. They both glared at him. "I should leave."

"First good idea you've had, Blondie," said Booth. They watched him leave quickly. Realizing the position they were in, Tempe pulled her hands from his and stood up to carry on with her work.

Booth tried to hide the disappointment that shrouded his eyes when the contact broke between them. He didn't know why he was upset. He never really thought about his partnership with Temperance. He always thought of them as business buddies who flirted constantly. Of course he felt the sexual tension between them, but he never acknowledged it. He just pushed it away into his subconscious, always resurfacing in his very arousing dreams.

He got a reality check with that surprising kiss he received from her. Sure she shoved a very painful knife to his gut afterwards, but the kiss is what really plunged to his visceral core. Booth realized that Tempe cared for him more than just as a partner. He needed to know, more than anything, why she kissed him. There were reasons he wanted to believe, but he knew they were ridiculous.

He returned to reality by Tempe waving a hand in front of him. "Hey. Wake up, Booth." He blinked away his previous thoughts and smiled again. "What were you thinking about?" she asked.

"You," he replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes unaware of how authentic that short statement actually was. "So what do we do now?" he asked.

"Well I found some x-rays of the eight victims that everyone is killing themselves over. I figure I'll look them over before I examine the actual bones."

"What do I do?"

"I don't know. I'm sure Cullen has something for you to work on."

"He said that these cases are top priority," said Booth. "Don't you need help with something?" He was desperate to lend a hand in any way he could.

"I don't know, Booth. You aren't really well versed in the vernacular of forensic anthropology. And I already have Zack to help me with that. I guess we could look over the x-rays together," she suggested.

"Yeah, 'cause two heads are better than one," said Booth.

"Yes and three heads are better than two. Zack is going to take half of the stack." She walked to her desk and called Zack's office. He was there and would come as soon as possible. Not two minutes later, Zack appeared in the door. Tempe handed him four manila envelopes.

"I'll get right on it, Dr. Brennan," said Zack. And he was gone.

Tempe brought the other four envelopes to the couch. She sat down next to Booth. They opened the first one, 'Jane Doe 5'.

Fifteen minutes later, Tempe and Seeley were looking at the last x-ray: the skull. "Well what do you know?" Booth chuckled. "Looks like we're back on the old case."

"Don't get too injudicious, Booth. We don't know what this is." Tempe was referring to a tiny dark square in the back of the skull with a thin black line running from it through the back end.

"What are you talking about, Bones? This is the same wire that was stuck in your brain. Well… not the same exact one, but you know what I mean. This is a victim of the same murderer we were hunting down in Hawaii. I don't how it got here, but-"

"Booth! Stop… thinking, for a second! Well, think, but don't talk. Listen to me. Maybe the M.O. is the same. We have no way of telling unless we look at the actual skull, remove whatever this object is, and compare it with the wire that I had. It's still in Hawaii, but we can get it sent over. We also need the remains of the shark girl that I never finished examining."

"Well don't tell me all of this, Bones. Get the Hawaiian Medico-Legal Lab on the phone and get that stuff over here. I'll phone Cullen and tell him what we saw." Booth got up to leave, but Tempe put a hand on his shoulder to push him back down.

"No, Booth! We haven't looked at the rest of the x-rays yet. Maybe all of these victims have that same object in their skulls. Weren't all the bodies found together?" she inquired.

"Yes, but if it is the same guy as in Hawaii, how the hell did he get here faster than we did?" Booth asked.

"I have no idea… That's why I'm doubtful it's the same guy."

"Do you think he has an accomplice?"

"Well remember your Gale Shyam and his employer?"

"Oh yeah! I'd overlooked that… Selling sharks on the black market?"

"Yeah that's what we were thinking. The murderer was feeding girls to sharks and getting rid of the sharks by selling them on the black market. But why was he killing the girls in the first place?" she asked herself more than Booth.

"Uh Bones?" Booth was about to retort, explaining how some murderers don't need a motive and that they kill 'cause they're crazy.

"Don't answer that question. Ok so the murderer either left Hawaii after he wired me up and came here. Or he has a partner in crime who does the same dirty work."

"If it is the same murderer then why is he just burying the bodies and not feeding them to sharks?" asked Booth.

"Sharks in Washington D.C.?" Skepticism dripped from Tempe's voice.

"Well shouldn't he be getting rid of the bodies in some other way?"

"I don't know. That's what makes me think he's got a cohort here in Washington D.C. who has his own way of getting rid of the victims."

"It's not very original…" Booth stated. "It is a bit coincidental, though, isn't it?"

"Him being in Washington D.C.?" Booth nodded. "Do you think he followed me?"

"I don't know. If he left after he implanted the wire, he has no way of knowing if he succeeded in killing you and me."

"That's true." Temperance groaned. "I just want to find this guy… or guys…"

"Or girls…" Booth proposed.

Temperance raised an eyebrow. "Doubt it."

He held his hands up in defense. "Just an idea."

The rest of the day was spent looking at the x-rays. Zack came into Temperance's office with the same information Seeley and Tempe had been finding: teenage females with something in the back of their skull. It was time to get back to the case.

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**AN- Ok… so yeah… uh… I hope this is all being understood. If you're not really absorbing it, then ask me to explain. Thank you for your reviews. I've been trying to update really quickly for you all. Added a little fluff in here! Hope you liked that part. I know I loved writing it. **


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